Corus Entertainment‘s Nelvana has entered a partnership with Cepia LLC to bring the Zhu Zhu Pets brand back to store shelves, with Nelvana Studio producing a new animated series based upon the property. Nelvana Enterprises will also oversee global merchandising of the brand in conjunction with the distribution of the new series. [Read more...]

Nelvana Enterprises and d-rights Inc. announced that Beyblade toy premiums will be featured in a Kids Meal promotion launching at Burger King restaurants in 70 countries. Each Kids Meal will include one of four different Beyblade toys that let kids race and battle it out.

The meals will be available at participating Burger King restaurants in territories worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe (excluding France), New Zealand, and the Middle East. The program follows last year’s successful Beyblade Burger King Kids Meal promotion, which featured Beyblade action racer toys and was available in more than 3,300 restaurants across international markets. This year’s program expands to include the U.S. and Canada and will be available at more than 11,000 locations and supported with on-air, online, and in-restaurant promotion.

Following the re-launch of the Beyblade TV series and toy line, this popular franchise is now in more than 80 countries with more than 200 licensees. Beyblade has consistently ranked as the No. 1 battling toy brand for kids and in this year the brand will witness a global regeneration with the launch of Beyblade: Shogun Steel.

Nelvana Enterprises has announced that Fisher Price, Inc. will act as the master toy partner in the U.S. for the popular bunny duo Max & Ruby. Fisher Price has developed a full range of toys, including plush, play sets and bath toys, that will be available next spring with a full launch in fall 2012. The Max & Ruby books, from author and illustrator Rosemary Wells, have sold over three million copies, and Max & Ruby DVDs (Nickelodeon Home Entertainment) have sold nearly 2.4 million copies. The brand is a top-rated show on Nickelodeon and it is also going on tour as a stage show by KOBA Entertainment this year.

Master toy partner Fisher-Price will debut the Guess with Jess line in Canada in fall 2011, Treehouse Presents will distribute Guess with Jess on DVD, and The Licensing Shop has been named licensing representative to oversee the brand in Canada.

German broadcaster KI.KA has purchased the first 26 episodes of Nelvana Enterprises‘ new animated series, Babar and the Adventures of Badou. The series will launch on the channel in spring 2011. Babar and the Adventures of Badou is an updated version of the classic Babar series and introduces King Babar’s 8-year-old grandson, Badou. In the CGI series, Badou and his friends Chiku the monkey, Zawadi the zebra, and others explore the exotic world of Celestville. The show, for kids ages 4 to 7, is a co-production by Nelvana Studio and TeamTO, in association with The Clifford Ross Company.

The series will premiere on YTV in Canada this November and is set to air on TFI in France, Playhouse Disney Japan, Disney Channel in Italy and Spain, ABC TV in Australia, TV2 in Norway, YLE 2 in Finland, DR TV in Denmark, Thai PBS, SRC for French Canada, and M-Net in South Africa, among others.

Nelvana Enterprises has announced several broadcasting and licensing deals for the new animated series Beyblade: Metal Fusion.

Beyblade: Metal Fusion, from Nelvana and d-rights Inc., will be airing on Cartoon Network in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand; Gulli in France; Nickelodeon in Germany; Nicktoons in the U.K.; Disney XD in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands; and BOING, Turner’s Free To Air Block in Spain, broadcasted on Telecinco and Factoria de Ficcion. The series premiered on YTV in Canada last month.

Hasbro, Inc. has been appointed the master toy licensee for most international markets outside of Asia. The new toy line has already launched in Canada and is set to hit shelves this fall in the U.S., Mexico, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand.

New Products

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE), TT Games, and The Lego Group will launch Lego Worlds on Feb. 21 for PlayStation4, Xbox One, and STEAM. The game is a galaxy of imaginative words made entirely of digital LEGO bricks where players can explore, discover, and create together.

TILT launched two SpinTales products online at Toysrus.com, the SpinTales Enchanted Duvet and Jungle Rug. Kids can use the free app designed for these products to create immersive augmented reality experiences with the products, which blur the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds.

Jakks Pacific has been granted the rights to manufacture and market a line of pet products inspired by the BOO—The World’s Cutest Dog brand. The Pets division of Jakks is planning a line of BOO-branded dog toys featuring BOO’s likeness and specially designed for small dogs, as well as dog apparel, dog beds, and dog [...]

To celebrate “Colorful Friday” and the launch of the new Special Edition Gemma Stone Shoppie Doll, Moose Toys is launching the “Make the World Sparkle and Shine” fan contest. To enter the contest starting on Nov. 25, fans must submit 4 to 6 sentences describing how they add “sparkle” to their world by helping out [...]

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced the release of six expansion packs for LEGO Dimensions, led by the Sonic The Hedgehog Level Pack and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Story Pack.